Australia’s First F-35 on the Go

[ford man xf]

The Royal Australian Air Force's (RAAF) first Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), or most popularly dubbed as Australia's first F-35, is already at its major assembly stage at the Lockheed Martin facility in Forth Worth, Texas.

The chief executive officer of the Defence Material Organisation (DMO), Warren King, made the official announcement on Friday, Oct 11.

Mr King stated that components for Australia's first F-35 are now being pieced together to form the Joint Strike Fighter.

"Known as AU-1, Australia's first F-35 will now make its way down the assembly line and roll out of the factory for delivery to the RAAF in the summer of 2014. Importantly 14 Australian companies are currently under contract and building parts for the F-35 as part of the global supply chain. Australian industry is expected to gain several billion dollars in industry opportunities over the life of the F-35 program."

Mr King shared that Australia is acquiring the Conventional Take-off and Landing (CTOL) F-35 variant.

"When integrated into a networked Australian Defence Force, the F-35 will fulfill the functions of air dominance and strike capability currently provided by F/A-18A/B Hornets and F/A-18F Super Hornets," Mr King stated.

AU-1 and the second Australian F-35 aircraft, AU-2, will be delivered in the course of 2014 in the United States for testing and training purposes.



Meanwhile, in Forth Worth Texas, Jeff Babione, Lockheed Martin vice president and deputy programme manager for F-35, expressed his positivity about Lockheed Martin and Australia partnership.

"Today marks a new beginning for tactical aviation for Australia. Lockheed Martin is proud of our long and storied relationship with Australian aviation, and now, the F-35 will ensure that the relationship with the RAAF and Australian Industry remains strong for decades to come," Mr Babione said during a press conference.

Lockheed Martin and the Australia's Defence Forces had started its partnership with the Lockheed Vega, F-111 - a partnership replicated with the F-35.

About the F-35 Lightning II:

It is a 5th-generation fighter, combining advanced stealth with fighter speed and agility, advanced mission systems, fully fused sensor information, network-enabled operations and cutting-edge sustainment.
Three distinct variants of the F-35 will replace the A-10 and F-16 for the U.S. Air Force, the F/A-18 for the U.S. Navy, the F/A-18 and AV-8B Harrier for the U.S. Marine Corps, and a variety of fighters for at least 10 other countries.

http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/51302...ighting-ii.htm

It's an impressive looking aircraft, lets just hope it performs as good as it looks.

[SM1DY]

Is it true that this thing can be out-maneuvered by an Airbus A380?

[QLD-Bluey]

Ok, call me biased, or "one-eyed", but it just hasn't got those sexy lines of the old pig!! The F-35, same as the new Rhino's are amazing aircraft in thier own right, but just hasn't got the class, speed, range and capabilities, in my view, especially with the vast size of the country we are trying to defend. I know we cant bring the old F-111's back but what a great investment we made way back then,......not so sure these days!!!

[ford man xf]

Originally Posted by QLD-Bluey

Ok, call me biased, or "one-eyed", but it just hasn't got those sexy lines of the old pig!! The F-35, same as the new Rhino's are amazing aircraft in thier own right, but just hasn't got the class, speed, range and capabilities, in my view, especially with the vast size of the country we are trying to defend. I know we cant bring the old F-111's back but what a great investment we made way back then,......not so sure these days!!!

Wish the RAAF kept the F111's they really were more than capable of the job at hand, but they were getting old.

[ford man xf]

Does anyone really rate the Indonesian airforce? It's not really a threat that some people make out to be, obviously China would be the biggest threat to Australias region.

[ford man xf]

Originally Posted by SM1DY

Is it true that this thing can be out-maneuvered by an Airbus A380?

People at first also mocked the Colins class submarines, but in the end they turned out to be good.

[QLD-Bluey]

Originally Posted by ford man xf

Wish the RAAF kept the F111's they really were more than capable of the job at hand, but they were getting old.

What gets me is that even the USAF still rave about the 1-11s, and yes they were getting old and expensive to maintain, but why couldnt they make newer improved ones?? Thats always miffed me!!!

[SM1DY]

Originally Posted by ford man xf

People at first also mocked the Colins class submarines, but in the end they turned out to be good.

And every up-start company will tell you about how Microsoft started in a garage. It doesn't mean that's the best place to start.

[Dusty1]

The Yanks are still flying the B52 with airframes built in the 60s. We should have kept some of those F111s, if for northing else but to let some guys around the shop know we could fly there, drop something and get back.

[ford man xf]

Originally Posted by SM1DY

And every up-start company will tell you about how Microsoft started in a garage. It doesn't mean that's the best place to start.

Very true, and there have been a lot of leaked information about how flawed the JSF is, but I guess we will have to wait and see.

[a_james]

Originally Posted by ford man xf

Very true, and there have been a lot of leaked information about how flawed the JSF is, but I guess we will have to wait and see.

Well you wouldn't expect the Yanks to sell another country aircraft superior to their fighters would you ;)

[Moby Vic]

Hey, you could always start building Wirraways again.

[MITCHAY]

Are any of these planes in active service any where in the world yet?

I still remember being in a board room full of Australian and US armed forces personnel including test pilots talking about this plane and not knowing really why I was there.

That was 6 years ago :

[Moby Vic]

"Joint" programs are always supposed to save money, but end up costing three times as much. Air Force, Navy, and Marines are very different customers with different requirements. Add brand-new technology to that, and it's not a recipe for bang for the buck.

[wrongwaynorris]

Originally Posted by ford man xf

People at first also mocked the Colins class submarines, but in the end they turned out to be good.

You should be on the stage . They can still be heard 7000 miles away by a deaf woman dipping her hearing horn in the water .

[GasoLane]

Originally Posted by SM1DY

Is it true that this thing can be out-maneuvered by an Airbus A380?

Don't know about the Airbus, but the Boeing 787 Dreamliner would give it a run for it's money......... Helps if it's being flown by an F18 pilot as well

If you don't want to watch all of it, the 'combat take off' at 2 mins is my favourite part :0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmqLsEhoOzY

[SantoAU]

I was a Blackhander with 79SQN when it was announced we were buying f-35's. The overwhelming response from the boys not positive. My initial feeling was it was going to be the TSR v2.0. Haven't really changed my mind since, but we've pumped a fair bit of coin in to this program to not see it fall over.

[Bucknaked]

The F-111 was a very cool character. This is just a very cold character.

[ford man xf]

Originally Posted by wrongwaynorris

You should be on the stage . They can still be heard 7000 miles away by a deaf woman dipping her hearing horn in the water .

A bit over exaggerated lol
I'm not in the navy so I wouldn't know, but I have been told all the problems they suffered were ironed out, the major issue the face with the Colins class is personnel shortage, I guess there's a lot of claustrophobic people out there.

[mik]

Originally Posted by Moby Vic

Hey, you could always start building Wirraways again.

Wouldn't that make an interesting mock dog fight vs the f35, my money would be on the wirraway .

[Dash_XR]

Big slow and expensive apparently. I remember seeing a documentary about them a while ago where in all their combat testing it's was loosing the majority of the time to older, cheaper opponents. They bought them cause they are meant to be an all rounder rather then a straight out dog fighter though didn't they? I've always loved the Hornets.

[SantoAU]

Technically, they're supposed to exceed both the F-111 and the Hornet. All the performance indicators so far point to something slower, less maneuverable and less capable for more $$.

Unfortunately, it's the way things roll in the military

[Moby Vic]

Originally Posted by mik

Wouldn't that make an interesting mock dog fight vs the f35, my money would be on the wirraway .

I would be willing to take your money.

[Crazy Dazz]

Originally Posted by QLD-Bluey

What gets me is that even the USAF still rave about the 1-11s, and yes they were getting old and expensive to maintain, but why couldnt they make newer improved ones?? Thats always miffed me!!!

Yes, the “Aardvark” is missed by even the US Air-force, but unfortunately once they made the decision to retire it, it meant there going to be no more upgrades or new spare parts.

Also need to appreciate that the role of the RAAF has changed. The F111 was bought for the primary purpose of bombing Indonesia, in the days when they were still being aggressive and we feared a communist takeover. And most importantly it was assumed that in the event of any conflict, Australia would kick their **** without help. The F111 was ideally suited to long-range strikes against poorly defended strategic targets.

Now days, most of our defence emphasis is geared towards cooperation with the USA. It is now mostly assumed that none of our neighbours, nomatter how belligerent, would be dumb enough to start a war with Australia. For starters, half of Indonesia would starve, and their economy would be ******, not to mention that Big Brother would send their fleet down and stomp them back to the stone-age.

The most likely deployment of RAAF planes is in some joint action with the USA, hence the need for compatible aircraft and systems.

[mik]

Originally Posted by Moby Vic

I would be willing to take your money.

I bet you would .

[mik]

Originally Posted by Crazy Dazz

Yes, the “Aardvark” is missed by even the US Air-force, but unfortunately once they made the decision to retire it, it meant there going to be no more upgrades or new spare parts.

Also need to appreciate that the role of the RAAF has changed. The F111 was bought for the primary purpose of bombing Indonesia, in the days when they were still being aggressive and we feared a communist takeover. And most importantly it was assumed that in the event of any conflict, Australia would kick their **** without help. The F111 was ideally suited to long-range strikes against poorly defended strategic targets.

Now days, most of our defence emphasis is geared towards cooperation with the USA. It is now mostly assumed that none of our neighbours, nomatter how belligerent, would be dumb enough to start a war with Australia. For starters, half of Indonesia would starve, and their economy would be ******, not to mention that Big Brother would send their fleet down and stomp them back to the stone-age.

The most likely deployment of RAAF planes is in some joint action with the USA, hence the need for compatible aircraft and systems.

This very statement worries me, yes it is good to have US as mates and Allies, but there may come a time when they are busy with their own problems and can't bail us out if **** hits the fan.
whether the F35 is good or not, they are so expensive, if we can afford only a small amount them and we where to get invaded by a larger population with shed loads of slightly inferior but still competent military jets, i'm thinking we would be up the creek without a paddle.

[DJR-351]

On recommendation I just Googled "f-35 problems", some interesting reading there for sure......

And just to be pedantic, were not getting the STOVL variant in this image, were getting CTOL conventional take off and landing F-35's, journos.....

[Bluepower]

I thought we didn't use single engine fighter aircraft due to our primary requirement being maritime strike, its a long swim if you have a compressor stall.

AND

if single engines are ok, then why didn't we buy F16's early ,80s and save a packet??

Forgive my ignorance guys, im only a mechanic, but cannot understand why this is happening.

[Moby Vic]

Originally Posted by Bluepower

I thought we didn't use single engine fighter aircraft due to our primary requirement being maritime strike, its a long swim if you have a compressor stall.

AND

if single engines are ok, then why didn't we buy F16's early ,80s and save a packet??

Forgive my ignorance guys, im only a mechanic, but cannot understand why this is happening.

Maybe you should load up on F-22s, also, just to be safe.

[DJR-351]

Originally Posted by Moby Vic

Maybe you should load up on F-22s, also, just to be safe.

You buggers won't sell them

Besides that, we couldn't afford them